The one they call a Daredevil
by Meanjojo
Summary: The Pegasus Knight Squadron is considered to be the best of the best, especially considering that they usually garner the saftey of the Exalt herself. how did a girl such as herself with just a curiosity for flying end up being another new trainee for the squadron? They call her a Daredevil because of the accidental stunts she pulls in training. (Interest check/Oneshot.)


A woman carefully flipped to the next page of her book. It was an old one, but still used by any would be pegasus knight. Honestly, she didn't care if she rode a pegasus or a wyvern. As long as she got to experience the sky with her own body. Naturally she enlisted in the Ylissian army and wanted to become a pegasus knight… or whatever else they could provide. Her father was always talking about the great kingdom of the sky and how not a lot of people took advantage, or admired, the fact that they can touch the sky.

Pegasus riders were simply always needed. The ability to fly, no matter who did it, was always a great tactical advantage for armies. She enlisted, not caring if she was set to be a scout, or a glorified scarecrow. As long as she could touch the sky, that's all that mattered. There was a training course and a test. Only a few actually failed, and fewer dropped out. She believed that she controlled her pegasus pretty well, that's all that mattered to pass the test. You could have the slowest time or the fastest, all that mattered was the fact that one could control their pegasus pretty well. She passed the test, obviously, and with slightly above average scores. Slightly.

The only exception was complete control of her pegasus. Her pegasus wanted to go fast, so she allowed it. However, that docked a few points off as the instructors said that she was the one that was supposed to be taking control and not relying completely on the pegasus to bail her out. It was a fine balancing act, but she needed to have most of the control to be a great flier.

She expected to be a scout, based on how fast the pegasus wanted to go, and apparently those who don't have the finest control of their pegasus, but have great speed, can become great scouters. However…

Right now she was one of the few candidates that was selected to be trained to be part of the Pegasus Knight Squadron. Not just any old squadron, The Exalt's Pegasus Knight Squadron. Or rather the pegasus knight's equivalent of the royal guard. The royal guard take the ground, the Pegasus Knight Squadron take to the skies.

The Pegasus Knight Squadron was usually filled with nobles or those of higher classes. The candidates who make it are usually the same thing. The nobles and higher classes simply had more time than quick training and a test was just another day for them. Even then the Pegasus Knight Squadron was scarce. Compared to the hundreds and hundreds of fliers out there, they were only filled to the dozens.

How did a simple daughter of a farmer get selected to train under them? Apparently the leader, Philia, said that she had potential. Any praise coming from the captain herself was a great thing. That's what the others have told her anyway.

She's been training with them for weeks now, but she's still a fledgling to them. The other candidates have already been accepted into their ranks completely and not treated as newbies. It showed that she doesn't belong with her slightly above average nature. She just wanted to fly.

She sighed as she placed the book down. She was told to keep learning how to control her pegasus better. At the moment they see the pegasus taking the lead, and she barely does anything. Not to mention how fast the pegasus was moving. It even earned a nickname for her.

Anyhow she needed to train more, until they were satisfied. The woman's name was-

"Hey, Daredevil."

It was that nickname once again. She looked to her trainer, a woman named Jase. She was pretty easy going, only when she wasn't mad though.

The woman waited for Jase to say something.

"Quiet as ever. You'll never make squad captain at this rate."

It was a simple joke. One that made Daredevil's eyes roll.

Jase grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, "Come on, you're going to be participating in mock combat with one of our more experienced members."

The woman gave Jase a puzzled look, "I'm not the one who suggested it, the captain did. I guess it's time to see if you've earned your keep."

Jase chuckled and allowed Daredevil to follow her, "We have your pegasus ready, hopefully you can try to control her better. You can't just have her do all the work."

Daredevil rubbed her eyes. How did she earn that nickname again? Oh, right. During one of the exercises she found herself flung from her pegasus into the air, in mid-air, and she somehow ended up getting right back on her pegasus without hitting the ground. It was through sheer luck that it happened, but the nickname stuck.

Her actual name was-

…

Sumia sighed as she awaited for her mock battle with the new candidate for the Pegasus Knight Squadron to show up.

"What's wrong?"

"O-oh, Cordelia! I didn't notice you there."

"I just arrived and noticed that you seemed a bit upset."

"I'm not upset, just a bit unsure."

"Unsure of what?"

"I've been told that I'm supposed to participate in a mock air to air battle with a new candidate. I'm just not sure if it's a… what was it called again? Hazing?"

Cordelia grumbled a bit, "How can you tell?"

"She's a relatively new candidate, but they only referred to her by nickname. Daredevil. I just feel like they expect me to completely crush her as a lesson to the new candidate. I don't feel too good about that."

"Setting an experienced flier versus a new candidate. Of course it's a hazing. I'm sure you can back out of it if you want to."

Sumia eyes lit up a bit, "Oh! I didn't think of doing that. I guess I was just too preoccupied with the possibility of me being an unwitting pawn of a hazing. I'm heading up to Feroxi anyway with the Shepherds to- "

"Can't do that. The request was personally made by the captain."

The two saw Jase as she leaned against a wall, "Daredevil's just stretching her pegasus' wings for a bit, she'll come down in a minute."

The woman pointed to the sky to a lone pegasus that idly flew in the sky. The two looked up and back to the woman. A smirk adorned her face, but they didn't bat an eye at it.

"The captain?" Cordelia raised a brow.

"Yep, just like I said."

"Does she intend to train… Daredevil… herself?" Sumia still didn't know the new recruit's name.

"Nope, she's keeping her hands off of this one."

"Then why would Philia request her to-"

"I don't know. She hasn't told us why. Yet, do you want to know how Daredevil got her nickname?"

Cordelia simply nodded, her expression didn't do much to betray her curiosity. Sumia quickly nodded as well, "I haven't been keeping up with the new recruits lately."

"Well she-"

…..

Daredevil kept her wooden lance at the ready as she silently stared at the one called Sumia. It was a quick introduction for the two. Sumia greeted with her name first, but before Daredevil could respond she was interrupted by Jase. She told them to get in position and prepare for mock aerial combat.

She hasn't had much combat training so far, only on the ground without her pegasus. So she isn't too sure on how this will go. Her opponent breathed in and out at a steady pace, probably preparing herself. The two were already in the air and were just waiting for instructions.

"This will be a mock aerial combat session!" Jase yelled from below, "The goal is to try and hit the opposing rider three times. How you do so is up to you, but don't kill each other up there!"

Sumia readied her wooden lance and prepared for battle.

"GO!"

Sumia and daredevil simply charged one another in a straight line. It didn't even take them five seconds to hit each other at the same time.

"Daredevil and Sumia have been hit once!"

Their pegasi flew past one another. Sumia was quick to turn her pegasus around, but Daredevil wasn't so lucky. Sumia made another dash towards her, but her pegasus flew upwards. Sumia didn't relent as she followed after the woman.

Daredevil spared a glance back at the woman, only to get hit a second time and with the woman flying right past her.

"Daredevil that's strike two, better step it up!"

Daredevil pursued the woman and tried to hit her, but she always managed to miss at the last second. It didn't take long for Sumia to manage to get behind her and start chasing her once again. Her pegasus flew faster sure, but Sumia flew more efficiently. She slowed way down when her pegasus tried to turn and Sumia kept closing the distance between the two with every turn. She needed to find a way to get this woman off her tail!

An idea popped up in the woman's head, a stupid one, but she's been fine before. She hasn't done it on purpose yet, but her pegasus always managed to get her in the spring of time. She bounced a few times on the pegasus and pat it on the neck. She wasn't sure if the snort was a confirmation, but it will have to do.

Sumia was finally about to catch up to Daredevil when the woman suddenly _jumped_ off of her pegasus. Sumia lowered her wooden lance and her eyes widened. She motioned for her pegasus to simply move and rescue the woman. She held out her arms to try and rescue the woman.

Sumia suddenly felt the end of Daredevil's wooden lance hit her twice as she fell through the air. The next thing she saw was the woman getting rescued by the same pegasus she jumped off of.

Daredevil plopped back harshly on the saddle of her pegasus. She stayed suspended in the air for a few more minutes right after. She got a good look at Jase, who had a smirk adorn her face, Sumia, who stood agape in shock at what just happened, and the red haired one down below. She couldn't get a read off of the last one, but that didn't matter she simply stared at her.

"Daredevil wins. She struck Sumia three times!"

With that she landed on the ground and dismounted her pegasus. Jase still kept the smirk on her face, "Well you won, but that doesn't mean you're aren't still a fresh out of the oven recruit. The stunt you pulled was impressive, but was entirely reckless. Same thing with the 'accidental' stunts you pull in training. You're not entirely sure if your pegasus will be there when you do stuff like that, so we got to work on you working together with your pegasus."

Daredevil simply nodded and listened to what Jase had to spew about training with a pegasus. She honestly couldn't wait to have full use of her wings. She was about to thank Sumia for the battle and tell her her actual name, but she could see that she and the red haired woman were already gone.

Well she still needed training.

….

Philia merely observed the mock battle from a window and wrote down her observations on a piece of paper. The woman has potential, but she relied too much on luck to bail her out. That's why her pegasus knights are training her of course. The Pegasus Knight Squadron were expected to have the best of the best, being the ones who were to be personal defense of the Exalt herself of course.

Philia was going to let that be but she noticed a certain someone coming into the room, "Your-"

She immediately got up and prepared to bow, but was immediately stopped, "There is no need for formality when it's just the two of us."

Philia nodded, but stood still in her position. "I do not intend to sound rude, but what is the Exalt herself doing here?"

"Do I not have free reign to walk whenever I wish to."

"I didn't mean-"

"I know. It's inadvisable for me to be walking without an escort at all times. Is it wrong for me to check the state of the Pegasus Knight Squadron?"

"I suppose not. It is the Exalt's personal pegasi guard."

"I heard you've got a new interesting recruit. I think she's called… Daredevil?"

"Even you heard of her nickname before her real one?"

"With an interesting name such as that, is it a wonder?"

"I suppose not. She's a fine flier, but a reckless one. She relies too much on luck to get her out of a situation that could've gone horribly if her pegasus didn't incidentally save her."

"So she's a troublemaker."

"Quite the opposite. She's diligent and there's not been any serious problems with her. She just needs to stop being reckless in flight. Note that she doesn't need to exactly stop her stunts. She just needs to perfect them to use them reliably."

"What's her name?"

"Namie."

…

**May or may not stay a oneshot. This is just something that came to be after a couple of sessions of Ace Combat. A series where the protagonist usually starts as a nobody in their fighter jet, before becoming one of the most feared combatant on the battlefield. To a point where just their insignia or name incites fear in the hearts of their enemies.**


End file.
